1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air bags for vehicles and, more specifically, to a cover retainer assembly for an inflatable restraint air bag of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that vehicles may collide with obstacles during operation. As a result, automotive vehicles have provided various structures to lessen the effects of a collision type impact on an occupant compartment of the vehicle. For example, some automotive vehicles may include an inflatable restraint air bag to lessen the effects of a collision type impact.
It is also known to incorporate an air bag into a steering wheel assembly of a vehicle to lessen the effects of a frontal collision type impact on an occupant compartment of the vehicle. For example, the steering wheel assembly may have a steering wheel cavity, an air bag disposed in the cavity and a cover member closing the cavity. The cover member is fixedly secured to the steering wheel assembly and may have a central perforation extending laterally across which tears or separately taken the air bag is deployed to allow the air bag to inflate and expand into the occupant compartment.
While air bags provide an advantage in lessening the effects from a collision type impact, one design constraint is that the material for the cover member must have a rupture strength satisfactory for cover release of the air bag. Also, another design constraint is that the cover member must rupture quickly, thereby allowing high opening forces for the air bag upon deployment. A further design constraint is that attachment hardware and tool assembly are required to assemble the cover member to the steering wheel assembly.